Global Launch

Maverick: My first service learning placement is at a restaurant called Refettorio Felix that provides free meals for the community. Diners can either come and sit down for a while and socialize with others or they can take one of the to-go meals if they do not have the time. During my time at this placement I have really learned how close-knit a seemingly disparate group of people can be. Simply the act of sharing meals with each other has formed a tight community that I am lucky to get to serve. My other placement’s location varies per week but it consists of going into local communities and tending to community gardens in these areas that are otherwise uncared for. Our work ranges from pulling weeds and trimming trees to planting new seeds. Here I have learned the importance of having a bright and cared for environment to live in. Simple things like that can have a positive impact on the people in the community.

Peri: My service learning placement is at the Charles Dickens Museum. The museum itself was Dickens’s home from 1837-1839 on 48 Doughty Street and the location in which he wrote some of his most famous novels to date such as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Today, the building holds a large collection of historical Dickens memorabilia and artifacts from his time at the Doughty house and other prominent locations from Dickens’s life. My title while working with the Charles Dickens Museum is a room steward whose job is to answer questions from museum visitors and make sure the assigned room is under control. The majority of my time while working at the museum is spent with visitors, answering questions and conversing about topics from Dickens’s life. I get to talk about a wide variety of topics with many different people as the majority of the visitors are tourists from other countries. Overall, my job at the Charles Dickens Museum allows for a unique experience in learning about literature and Dickens himself.

Callum: For my service-learning placements, I am volunteering as a football (soccer) coach/assistant. One placement is in the Isle of Dogs, where I help out in free afterschool football sessions for kids between the ages of 14 and 18. I help keep sessions organized and help with refereeing and coaching the kids. I also do similar work with Blackpool FC, a Sunday league football team in Stepney Green, as I assist in training sessions and occasionally train with them.

Kian: My placement is at City Harvest, located in Acton. This charity is a good redistribution center, focusing on the reduction of food waste and providing meals for those in need. I chose this placement hoping for something simple, where I could go in, finish my work, and leave calmly, but was greeted by a community instead. Most volunteers have been with City Harvest for longer periods of time, meaning everyone knows each other, but new people are welcomed as well. The placement is a lot less tedious than I expected, with lots of hard work, but conversation and the variation of tasks mixing things up give the experience a sense of novelty as well as purpose, with the lack of repetition. Service learning has been a really exciting way to be involved with the community around me!

Jillian: The Service-Learning Program has been incredibly eye opening and involving. I am currently working at The Venture Center which is a non-profit organization for everyone in the community. My role is to play with and watch over the kids who come and hang out after school! It is a really great program as a lot of the kids who come in otherwise don’t have access to all the fun things that we do there. We do lots of arts and crafts, drawing, games, and other activities. It’s been really cool to see how these programs give back to the community, as well as how volunteer based the organization is. I feel I haven’t seen as many volunteer driven programs back in the U.S, so I think it is a very special concept that London has. My other placement is at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital where I have been helping incoming patients find their appointments or assist them in getting to where they need to be. This role is another one that is very volunteer based, and I have been able to meet a bunch of the other volunteers that have done this for years. It is really fulfilling to know that I can give back to the community I have been so lucky to be a part of for the past seven months!

Maya: Both of my placements have been truly wonderful, and I have gotten to learn more about the British perspective on Americans and vice versa. My first placement is at a primary school called St. Andrews in Barnsbury and I work with Year 5. Walking into the classroom, they have a fairly small/medium-sized class that seems fit.

My first day there went typically. The kids start out with silent reading, then math, and then a class reading. I helped a bit in math as they were learning about graphing coordinates. Year 4 joined the class while they worked on different problems in their math booklet. Some of them needed actual help but some of the kids were more curious about me. One of the girls I was helping asked me how presidential elections worked and if I voted for Joe Biden. I laughed and I told her that I couldn’t vote at the time. She also asked if we had Takis in America and I explained to her that they are very popular. Later during writing, I helped one of the boys in the class by peer reviewing his writing. He was very funny, and I was able to help him with his spelling and flow. Overall, my job consists of helping the kids when they’re stuck and answering the occasional questions about America.

My other placement is as Osmani Trust, an after-school youth club for Muslim girls in Blackwall. The first time working, we joined the four high school girls that were in attendance in making crafts for International Women’s Day. They were eager to get to know us and asked us so many questions about what we thought about the UK and our lives back in the states. Their curiosity made the time we spent there because it’s nice to feel welcomed in an environment where you’re technically the outsider. Working with the girls is very fun and it feels less like work, but more a time to get to know new people.

Charlotte: In my first placement at Moorfields Eye Hospital, I entered with an idea of what I might be doing with the knowledge I have of American hospitals, to find that things work significantly differently here, and that I would have to have a very open mind to be able to find my footing there. The Friends of Moorfields volunteers are very established in the hospital and what I learned was that they are regular staples of hospitals in the UK. At Moorfields, I got to meet the volunteers who work in the entrance to the hospital and provide directions for where people’s appointments are or provide them with resources following their treatments or appointments. What I also learned was that things in the hospital are intentionally condensed so for the most part, what I do is direct people to the elevators or directly forward to the ground floor clinics. What I noticed the most was that the sense of community was far less with the patients and people coming into the hospital, it was with the other volunteers. This being said, while there was a lot of familiarity between people, none of it felt too deep or beyond polite interaction to pass the time. I’m wondering if this is something that will change the more time I spend there, or if this is mainly how volunteers interact.

For my second placement, I was at The Reach community center, associated with the Osmani Centre. Here, I immediately felt much more welcome and like I was entering an established community through the way people interacted with each other and the level of comfortability everyone exhibited once we all got settled in. For the most part, conversations weren’t too deep here either, but everyone seemed very relaxed and I felt more connected to the girls we were working with. We discussed a lot of the differences between American and British cultures which was able to bring us closer with the girls as well as the other volunteers.

Adam: When I first stepped foot in Compton Lodge Care Home for my first volunteer placement here in London, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Since moving to London all the way back in August, I have been extremely fortunate in cultivating meaningful friendships and relationships both in the city and across varying regions of the UK. In these friendships and relationships, I have been introduced to various communities that have managed to take root in UK society. As most of these experiences in meeting new people and exploring new communities took place in social settings with people in a similar age group that carried a mindset to where I currently find myself now, the Compton Lodge Care Home definitely felt like it was the polar opposite of what I had found myself used to in terms of my time already spent in London. I have spent a great deal of time in care homes in the past, however, these experiences usually saw me accompanied by my grandparents, who worked and continue to work with residents suffering from dementia and other ailments. This type of volunteer work was completely new to me, and felt even more alien considering it was to be done in a British setting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was hardly any different from my experiences working in care homes with my grandparents, and soon felt easily acclimated to my surroundings and those who both worked and resided there. When I wasn’t spending my time speaking with residents, I found myself observing how the residents interacted with each other. Some exchanged words of kindness with either their peers or other staff, while others seemed to only bicker and complain; though eventually finding something to be happy about. However, even though words of kindness seemed to be the overwhelmingly positive form of interaction, I was able to see past good and bad to find harmony in all of their interactions, regardless of whether or not they were good or bad. Some found differences that were hard to see past, but their acknowledgment of these differences and patience from those on the other end of the stick nonetheless helped to form their community within the care home.

St. Andrews Primary School also felt similar to Compton Lodge Care Home, as once again, I did not know what to expect. I have worked in tutoring students before, but as this was in an American setting, I felt unsure of how much of that experience would be applicable to this placement. On top of this, the aspects of Britishness I had become greatly associated with up until this point were not related to such a young age group; so, similarly to Compton Lodge Care Home, the age gap between me and those I would be working with also made me feel somewhat uneasy. But, just as before, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was hardly any different from my experiences working in tutoring back home in the States. I was assigned to work with a boy, Rhys, and help him to concentrate on the lesson. Rhys had autism, and I had a wonderful time sitting with him and helping him get through the lesson; though he seemed to do just great for the most part! Though I spent the majority of my time invested in Rhys’ work, I also found myself observing how he interacted with the rest of his class. When Rhys did have moments of disruption, his peers showed him nothing but compassion and understanding, which once again furthered my vision of harmony in both of the communities I witnessed. Those who had differences were still accepted as members of this community, and saw themselves as members of this community because of the acceptance shown by their peers. Without this, the community within the St. Andrews Primary School would otherwise not be possible.

Bella: For my service learning placements, I am working at two different refugee centers. One is the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants and the other is the Notre Dame Refugee Centre. At the Islington Centre, I try to socialize with the clients and participate in activities with them such as singing and dancing. At the Notre Dame Refugee Centre, I provide general support for clients and help them with certain tasks such as reading them forms, filling out forms, sending emails, making phone calls, etc. From these placements, I have learned about the assistance that migrants would need and how they are positively impacted with our help. In addition, I have learned how to use content management systems to record information about clients at the NDRC.

Anastasia: This semester, I have two community placements. The first is at St. Andrew’s primary school where I work with first year students and help as a teachers assistant. I often help the teacher organize materials, or sometimes work with certain kids individually. My second placement is at the Venture Center and Adventure playground. This is a great community outreach program and I love spending my time volunteering here. I mainly work with the kids through the centers after school program, where the kids can play on the large playground, have afternoon tea, and receive homework help. Working with the kids in the homework help portion is always rewarding when the children excitedly recall what they did in class, or read to me a sentence they wrote. I’m addition to the children’s program I work with, the center offers a variety of other services for the community, including art therapy, and classes for pregnant and expecting mothers. I often arrive early to this placement, as there is group art sessions before where many different people join from the community to create some beautiful artwork. They are definitely a tight knit group as I walk through and they call each others names and talk about what’s going on in their lives. It’s very endearing to see each of them interact and be so opening to new people, as well as to anyone who may be unsure. Overall, the community of people I have been working with are very genuine and are willing to welcome anyone with a smile.

Mya: The first learning placement that I do is tutoring children. I am placed at St. Andrews (Barnsbury) C of E Primary School located in Islington, London. I work with year three which are 7–8-year-olds in the morning. I help around the classroom with math, writing, and reading with children who need help. During my time here, I have learned that this community at the school is full of love and friendship. I remember at the assembly; the principal spoke about loving strangers. That speech showed that the school valued love and kindness. It is a well-knit community as everybody knows one another. The second learning placement I am placed at is the Venture Centre Playground located in Kensington and Chelsea, London. I also work with kids around the same age as the kids I work worth at the school. However, I really do like this placement because it’s a different environment and the kids are lively. I mostly chat with the kids and staff members before taking the kids to homework time. I then help the kids with their homework if needed. The community here is a lot more different than the school since the kids and staff get to have a connection. Overall, both places show great and diverse communities that have different values.

Claire: On Wednesdays I volunteer at a Refugee center that supports clients in a plethora of ways. There are singing and dancing activities that everyone gets involved in which is a light-hearted and fun way to interact with one another and learn from other people’s cultures. Volunteering at the center can be anything from checking clients in at the front desk, working together to fill out paperwork, or offering to share a tea or coffee. The center provides crucial financial, residential, occupational etc… support and it fuels my curiosity and International relations. In the specific photo, I was helping an Ethiopian woman understand a medical document and along the way learning a bit of Amharic. I am developing a greater awareness for others, learning compassion, and furthering my world views. I am also giving back to the London community that has fostered such a wonderous exchange year and developing meaningful connections with special people.

Gwen: My first placement is at the Islington Centre for Migrants and Refugees, about 40 minutes from our residence. At the center, my UW peers and I assist other volunteers with running activities each Wednesday. I have enjoyed sitting at the sign in desk, as I get to greet each client and meet everyone who comes through. There is also a choir and dance session each week that has proven very enjoyable. It has really shown me how song and dance are such powerful tools for communication. I find myself having conversations and sharing meals with people who were strangers before we danced together. As a volunteer, one of my responsibilities is to make sure clients feel welcome at the center and in activities, so I find myself being more outgoing, bringing more people together. It challenges me because there are many factors that can make situations difficult like language barriers, but when I persevere, it is always worth it. Getting to know everyone at the center is really motivating me to find something similar back in Madison, because I can so clearly see and experience the benefits for all involved.

My second placement is St. Andrew’s Primary School in Islington. There, I am a teaching assistant for Year 4 students. I often walk around the class during work time and help answer questions. It is a joy to be directly involved in the education of children, and interesting to compare my own experiences with theirs. Today, I helped the students write poems about characters from the book they are reading, How to Train Your Dragon.

Benjamin: Over the last few weeks, I have volunteered some of my time at Omnibus Theatre in London. I have been involved in theater my whole life and was interested in seeing how things worked behind the scenes. When I arrive at the theater, my job is to work at the front desk, informing people where to go, greeting them, and helping out with any inquiries people may have. The community at the theater is very close, as the team running it is very small. This small team welcomed me with open arms, and I have gotten quite friendly over the limited time. There are many other communities within the theater because of the groups that rent out the spaces. For example, a performing arts school occupies some of the spaces, and they often greet me when walking through the door. A parent-child group meets in the morning, and I interact with the kids wandering up to the front desk. I get to see how the theater interacts with people in the nearby community. Some members go out and teach art classes to schools that don’t have theater programs. Overall, the experience has been very eye-opening to the world I have grown up in, and I feel I am gaining good life experience.

Thomas: My service-learning placement is working with C and C homes which are lodges located in Camden that provide care for elderly residents. My job there has been to comfort and interact with residents to provide them with a comfortable, friendly environment. Some things I have done since volunteering there include simply talking to residents about their life’s and past careers, making puzzles with them, and playing catch. I’ve learned that community is an important part of working in nursing home-like environments. It’s important to provide a friendly atmosphere for elderly residents to feel comfortable in and C and C seems to do a great job in giving elderly residents an inviting community to live in. The staff are all friendly and do a great job in taking care of every resident with care and compassion.

Brita: For my service learning placements, I wanted to integrate my passion for music with my intended major of Psychology. My first placement is at C&C London homes, a small and peaceful retirement home near Camden. Most of the residents that we interact with are a part of the memory care ward. Claire and I like to play the piano and sing with them; it is nice to see their faces light up when we play a song that they recognize. By conducting a sort of music therapy for them, I am able to see how Psychology and music can intertwine. My second placement is at the Abbey Community Centre where I participate in the community choir. It is a small and close community of people in London with a passion for music. Together, we sing a diverse range of songs, from popular music from the 1960s to songs from the Golden age of Broadway. The atmosphere is incredibly non-judgemental and supportive; I am grateful to have such inspiring and fun service learning placements!

Benjamin: Due to a COVID shutdown at C and C London Homes I have not been able to attend my second service-learning assignment. However, I have been able to attend my BOST gardening service-learning placement. It has been amazing to be able to restore different gardens and make a physical impact on London through caring for nature. The other volunteers that I work with are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, and it has been fun to get to know them throughout my service-learning placement.

• This experience has shown me the benefits of engaging in new cultures.
• My advice to future students on this program is to be bold and take advantage of being in a new environment. Try new things and explore new places because it truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
• My program opened my eyes to the multiculturalism within London and the different perspectives of how people view the world. It has also opened my eyes to the theme of sustainability that the UK and Europe try to constantly implement in everyday life whether it is at home or work.
• My advice to future students on this program is to try a ton of new cuisines because London has incredible food diversity. Brick Lane, Camden Market, Portobello Market, Borough Market, and the Spitalfields Market are just a few of the many places that offer a plethora of ethnic foods.
• The course content helped me to consider sustainability in a holistic view prioritizing social, economic, and environmental sustainability equally.
• My advice to future students in this program is to take all the opportunities that come around you because opportunities come on rare occasions.
• My program opened my eyes to being more independent than I was ever before.
• This experience has been truly life changing, and I never imagined having the opportunity to explore life through the study abroad lenses. I could not have asked for a better spent freshman year!
• Participating on this program was the first time I traveled out of the United States! Studying abroad in London was my first time leaving the country, and even though it was daunting, I’m beyond glad I did it.
• My advice to future students in this program is to take time to explore London thoroughly before traveling abroad.
• Participating in this program was the first time I’ve lived by myself without the direct support of my parents.
• Participating in this program was the first time I felt as if my view of education was matched; we as a cohort learn and explore things in a unique, immersive way.
• This experience has helped me gain a better understanding of new cultures across Europe and the rest of the world.
• My advice to future students on this program is to put yourself out there and meet people outside of your study abroad group.
• My advice to future students on this program is be ready to self-advocate! Being in a new place with new rules can be hard, so you need to identify what you need to succeed and get it!
• The course content helped me to consider the widespread effects of immigration on the character of a city.
• My advice to future students on this program is to find a schoolwork and social balance! London has so many things to do, but you still have to find some time to study.
• My advice to future students on this program is to be prepared to plan out your financials! London is quite pricey and simple things like grocery shopping can add up quickly. Budget wisely.
• Participating in this program was the first time I lived alone, went abroad, or even went on a plane, so it’s been a lot of firsts!
• The course content helped me to consider just how much an environment can influence an artist’s work.
• Participating on this program was the first time I had truly done something out of my comfort zone and challenged myself to do something unknown and it has totally paid off. I have met amazing people and seen amazing things.
• I have considered American culture in a new way because of this program.

Tommy: In the first weekend that I was in London, I did a lot of walking. I walked to an entirely different neighborhood for my government-required COVID test, and found that there was a very noticeable shift in the types of shops and the behavior of the people on the sidewalk between where we are living and where I ended up in just an hour’s walk to the west. A few days later, I walked from near Piccadilly Circus back to the west where we live after seeing an FIE-organized West End theatre performance on the first weekend. I passed by tourist-centered areas, I passed by 18th and 19th century buildings and contemporary-style buildings, I passed by expensive hotels and upscale shops, I passed by green spaces, and I passed by memorials to victorious leaders. Even today, I am still surprised to see the medieval next to the modern, and the antiquated alongside the avant-garde.

Shannon: Now that we’re a month in, the reality of studying abroad in London has finally sunk in. The first two weeks were full of settling in and starting classes, but now that I have a routine, I really feel like I’m living here. I go to the same coffee shop every day, I know which tube lines go to which parts of London (although I’m pretty directionally challenged so I still get confused by east and west-bound), and I have specific routes I like to walk along when it’s nice out. Plus, there’s so much to do and see! I’ve visited lots of museums and galleries with my classes and have also seen a few theatre productions. The best part is that most museums here are free, so I can visit whenever I want. My favorite part so far was our day trip to Oxford last Sunday. We had a tour guide show us around the town and college, and then we had time to go explore for ourselves. I went to see the Bodleian Library’s Divinity School (seen in the picture), which I was really excited about because it was the set of the infirmary in the first Harry Potter movie. I also climbed 127 (very steep) stairs in the Oxford University Church to the tower, which gave me a really amazing view of the whole town. That trip specifically was with all of the UW Madison kids, but I’m hoping to take some day trips on my own to other parts of England in the next few months. I am also really looking forward to starting our service project after spring break. I can’t believe we only have 3 months left here!

Henry: I can hardly believe it’s been 4 weeks in London already, time has just flown by.  The picture I have attached is actually a picture of Oxford and not London, but that’s because all my pictures of London are very overcast and grey.  Fortunately it has been relatively rain free and I’ve been told it has been warmer than usual, but the clouds still refuse to let the sun through.  Since the weather has been so mild I have been trying to visit as many boroughs as possible.  I really enjoy how different parts of this city feel very distinct from each other, which isn’t surprising as the growth of this city has been centuries in the making.  Still, I am surprised when I am walking along a series of Victorian town houses and then suddenly stumble upon a skyscraper.  Another thing that has come as a pleasant surprise is the way a rainbow of cultures seep through this city.  The whole ‘you are more likely to hear a foreign language than English’ on the street is very true.  The restaurants here are great as well, as any of the world’s food options are just a bus or tube ride away.  I have never had so many different foods before in my life.  All of this leads me believe that London is the place explore.  You don’t have to find adventure here, it finds you.

Leah: It was a little surreal stepping of the plane and thinking, ‘wow, I’m in London right now’. And not just that I was in London, but the fact that I would be living and studying here for four months. I have never lived in a place this big before, so being able to get on the tube and go anywhere was a new experience for me. So far, we have taken many class trips around the city, and I love how the entirety of London is our classroom. My favorite trip so far was the visit to the British Museum for our British Life and Cultures class. I thought it was incredible seeing all the famous artifacts from around the world such as the Parthenon Marbles and Rosetta Stone, as well as sparking an interesting discussion over these contested artifacts and whether or not they actually belong at the British Museum. I look forward to exploring more of this amazing city and learning about its extensive history.

Shannon: My favorite place to explore in London has been Brick Lane. We took a tour of the area for our British Life and Cultures class, and I immediately fell in love with the history and street art. Brick Lane is an archive of memories from different people and cultures, and it was really cool to see how those narratives are still present today. I loved the smells coming from different restaurants, many of which were Indian, but the best was in the beigel shop I visited while exploring after the tour. I thought it was interesting that the shop used the original spelling of the word bagel – not to mention it was the best bagel I’ve ever had. The coolest part of Brick Lane, however, has to be its street art. It was everywhere I looked, and there were even some designs that I recognized. The prints of Amy Winehouse that I found in a few different places were my favorites. I’m definitely going to visit Brick Lane again soon to check out all of the vintage stores and get another bagel.

A routine place I visit is the study lounge in the basement of Metrogate. While I do like to study at coffee shops, I end up here a lot of the time since it’s in my building. There’s almost always a few other students in here as well, which is nice because being around other people helps me focus when I’m studying. There are lots of outlets which are very convenient, and during the day the skylight in the ceiling lets in a lot of really nice natural light. It’s also a good spot to work on group projects or hang out while you wait for your laundry to finish.

Henry: My favorite part of London to explore is the Camden Town area.  Camden Town is most well-known for the Camden Market, one of the biggest in London.  It has an amazing array of shops and an even better selection of food choices.  You can find street foods from all over the world here.  One cool thing about Camden Town is that it’s located on a series of canals, which are very nice to take walks on.  Finally, the best part about the Camden Town area are the adjacent parks.  Regent’s Park, like all the other royal parks, is a really nice place to go on a sunny day.  However, Primrose Hill is my favorite park in the area, as it easily offers the best view of the city skyline.

When you come to London you use public transportation a lot.  The London Underground, or as it’s colloquially known The Tube, will be the transportation you use the most around here, as it is the quickest way to travel across this traffic bogged city.  The Tube is clean, fast, and easy to use, so it’s no wonder 1.35 billion people every year.  At first it may seem daunting, 11 main lines, the Overground, the DLR, Trams, and other National Rail services each threaten to overwhelm you.  However, using your common sense as well as the Tfl app, it’s not that bad really.  Within just a week you will find yourself using London’s transportation system like a pro.

Tommy: My favorite place to explore in London is the City of London, which is a borough within London itself. The incredible history there makes it one of my favorite places. The first settlement in present-day London was by the ancient Romans. They built a walled city, and the borders of that city is the City of London today; even some of that original ancient stone wall is still standing. Throughout the centuries, that space was still the heart of London, and it is evident in the buildings. In walking around for just ten minutes, one would see a 1st century stone wall, an 11th century castle, and a 21st century award-winning environmentally sustainable building, among so much more. The contrast of architectural styles and eras, along with the vast history of this area, in addition to it being riddled with buildings of great importance (e.g. the Bank of England) makes it a truly unique place to experience. The picture is of the Millennium Bridge (built in the 20th century) that leads to St. Paul’s Cathedral (built in the 17th century); I feel it accurately captures the continual development of the area with newer infrastructure, making it a wonderful collage of architecture.

My routine place is the Oscar Wilde Room, a classroom in Foundation House where I have two classes. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings, I hike up to the 2nd floor (American translation: 3rd floor). One of the classes I have is Harry Potter. Upon walking in, there are windows straight ahead, two-three dozen identical blue tablet desks set up in rows facing the right, where there is a chair and a desk for the teacher facing them (left) and a smart projector behind that. The other class is one of my UW faculty courses: London and the Sense of Place. Instead of rows, all the seats are arranged in a circle for whole class discussions about the topic for the day and for a more communal environment. I’ve learned many fascinating things in this classroom, yet the most important is that I learned that I can hear pitches higher than others. There is an irritatingly high pitched sound that comes from near the door, and it seems I’m the only one that can hear it, probably because I’m the youngest in the classroom.

Leah: The favorite place I chose was from Westminster. I thought it was interesting to visit because that’s where you can find a lot of the attractions that people typically first think of when they think of London, such as Big Ben and the London Eye. It was surreal being there because it truly felt like I was in London when standing below and looking up at Big Ben. It’s funny because I’ve always had a glamorous image of it in my head and currently its mostly covered in scaffolding, which made it feel even more real.

This second image is from the coffee shop where I often go to work on homework. It’s typically hard to find somewhere to sit at a lot of the nearby coffee shops so I like this one in Victoria because it’s normally not as busy since it’s in the middle of an area with a lot of construction and also not as loud as some of the other places.

Leah: The learning environment here is been incredible because of how much learning we do outside of a traditional classroom setting. This picture was taken during our walking tour of Brick Lane for our British Life and Cultures class. Our tour guide, Pete, showed us the famous street art culture of the area and we even got to see a Banksy. In addition, we got an in-depth history lesson about its multiculturism, women’s rights, and a firsthand experience about the housing issues in London and what it’s like to be homeless. All of our excursions outside of the classroom has enriched our knowledge because we are experiencing things that we wouldn’t have learned from reading it in a textbook.

Henry: If you are a part of UW Global Launch, you will go here during your time in London.  It’s the British Museum, one of the largest and most comprehensive museums in the world.  The Rosetta Stone, sculptures from the Parthenon, Easter Island statues, and how the museum acquired these treasures; there are a million lessons to be learned here.  Learning in London means exploring London, and as a student in UW Global Launch you can expect plenty of opportunities given to you to do so in and out of class time.  

Thomas: The concept of having London as the classroom is an integral part of FIE’s curriculum. Not only do the teachers and staff come from different backgrounds, within and outside of London, but in all my classes we have gone out to experience firsthand the things we discuss in class. In my classes, we have talked about topics like community, types of theatre, and immigration/gentrification, but going out and volunteering ourselves, seeing theatre productions, and being in the very spaces that were gentrified from historically immigrant neighborhoods is altogether different.

Shannon: A really cool aspect of our Art & Theatre course is that a lot of our class time isn’t spent inside an actual classroom, but instead at shows and art galleries. We get to see new art and performances every week, which I think is a really effective way to actually learn about it, because we get to experience it. This is very different from most traditional classes, which are just spent in a classroom. Additionally, the work that we get to see brings in a lot of different themes from all over the world. A few weeks ago we saw a show put on by the Belarus Free Theatre, and it was completely in Belarusian. It was the first time I had ever been to a live show that had to be translated through subtitles, and it was a really cool experience.

We have also seen a few different things that relate to British-Caribbean history, including a really engaging gallery called “Life Between Islands” at the Tate Britain, and a show called “Small Island” at the National Theatre. This class has been one of my favorites because of the opportunities we have to see performances and art that we otherwise may not even know about.

Leah: My first placement is at the Moorfields Eye Hospital. I work “front desk” which means that I hand out masks to patients who don’t have one and help give directions so they can find their wards or clinics. I enjoy this placement because I have met people from all over the world and already witnessed so much in just the past two weeks. It is an NHS hospital, so it has been interesting to see how the healthcare system differs in the UK than in the US. The network of volunteers there are all incredibly helpful and have made it an easy transition so far. My second placement is at St Andrews Barnsbury primary school where I assist a Year 4 class. Similarly to the hospital, it is so fascinating seeing how the school system differs, especially being at a smaller and religious school. I only recently found out that Head Boy and Girl is a real thing, but I have now discovered that it’s a thing as early as primary school.

Henry: As a part of the UW Global Launch program, we’ve been asked to volunteer with some local community organizations.  I have been helping out at the Venture Community Center, a community center and adventure playground that focuses on giving kids the tools and freedom to have fun as they see fit.  It’s all about making sure that the kids have the freedom to make mistakes and to learn, so my job there is a rather nuanced one.  I have to make sure that they don’t do anything mind-bogglingly stupid, as kids do, while also allowing them to play in a way that allows them to make the most of their surroundings and imagination.

 I have also been helping out with the Year 6’s (Grade 5) at St. Andrews Primary school on Caledonian Road.  I’ve been a basic assistant in the classroom, but it’s been a lot of fun seeing the children’s excitement when it comes to learning.

Thomas: Since we have two different placements, I’ll talk about both of them. My first one is at the Charles Dickens Museum. My main role is to simply make myself available to guests if they have any questions. Since I am at a museum, learning is a natural and expected consequence. I’ve learned a lot about Charles Dickens himself, and the museum as a whole. My other placement is at St. Andrew’s Primary School. I’ve been helping the teacher with administrative things (e.g. making copies), while also helping the students themselves. It’s been good fun, and I’ve learned a little about the differences between the American and British education systems, since I’ve worked with the same age group before (1st grade in the US is Year 2 in the UK).

Shannon: My service learning placements are with the London School of Mosaic and the Bankside Open Spaces Trust. At LSoM, I have been helping out with a painting class for senior citizens, as well as doing other tasks around the school. The people there are really interesting to talk to, and love to tell me about anything and everything. Just the other day, I spoke to one of the mosaic artists there who told me that a large Roman mosaic has been discovered by the London Bridge, which I didn’t know about. It is a really encouraging and welcoming space, with not only mosaic classes, but also clay working, upcycling and sewing, painting, and drawing.

My other placement, BOST, is an organization that is working to preserve and enhance green spaces in London. I really enjoy this placement because I get to garden outside, and so far it’s been 60º and sunny every time I’ve volunteered. We go to different parks each session, which is cool because I’m getting more familiar with some of the neighborhoods in London now. One space we worked in was at a church, and their employees made us cups of tea while we gardened. My BOST volunteer group is pretty small, but very friendly and passionate about gardening. I feel really lucky to be working with both of these organizations and am really enjoying my experiences!

Thomas: At the Student Global Leadership Conference, one of the talks I attended was about the various responsibilities large corporations have, using Starbucks as an example. There were four, each was a tier in a pyramid. The bottom two were “economic responsibilities” and “legal responsibilities”; they were the most basic and essential ones that are required by society (i.e. make money and follow the law). The next tier was “ethical responsibilities”; integrity, fairness, people orientation, and responsibility are a few ethical qualities that are expected by society. The topmost one was “philanthropic responsibilities,” which are desired by society.

Henry: As a student here in London, we were given the opportunity to participate in an event put on by FIE called the Student Global Leadership Conference.  This two day event taught us many things about leadership, but honestly there wasn’t some hidden truth of leadership given to us.  Instead, we were left to consider what we personally could do in a leadership role, and how to best apply ourselves.  Adapt to your situation, give what you can, do good; these were the key messages we were left with.

Leah: One of my group sessions discussed ethics in leadership. Students gave presentations about ethical dilemmas such as fast fashion, mob mentality, and Spotify paying their artists. It was very interesting hearing the presentation about the right v right dilemma of countries having carbon emissions restrictions versus letting less developed countries grow economically from industrialization. They talked about the three different ways to analyze an ethical dilemma, such as consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. I thought the presentations were interesting because they brought up dilemmas where both options seem like the right option and taught useful skills about how to analyze a situation from different angles.

Shannon: One thing I discussed at the SGLC was how we can work to break through generational barriers with leadership. It was a really engaging conversation, because our session consisted of Gen X-ers, millennials, and Gen Z-ers like myself. In my group specifically, we discussed how when younger generations suggest changes in the workplace to their leaders they can come across as difficult or hard to work with, but a lot of the time having someone younger challenge an older concept or practice will bring about positive change. I thought it was really interesting to hear the perspectives of people older than me and relate them to my own experiences, and I think that the knowledge I got from this session will help me as I become more involved in workplace settings.